[Usenet] Since Usenet first got off the
ground in 1980--81, it has grown exponentially, approximately doubling in
size every year. On the other hand, most people feel the
signal-to-noise ratio of Usenet has dropped
steadily. These trends led, as far back as mid-1983, to predictions of the
imminent collapse (or death) of the net. Ten years and numerous doublings
later, enough of these gloomy prognostications have been confounded that
the phrase “Imminent Death Of The Net Predicted!” has become a
running joke, hauled out any time someone grumbles about the
S/N ratio or the huge and steadily increasing volume, or the
possible loss of a key node or link, or the potential for lawsuits when
ignoramuses post copyrighted material, etc., etc., etc.